Staff Pick

A noir story in spirit if not in form, Philipp Meyer's debut novel shows off the skills of a terrific writer. Characters' voices leap off the page in a bleak and desperate narrative full of sympathy, perspective, and brilliant prose. The lives of these small-town losers spiral out of control as they attempt to thwart the fate they believe life has thrust upon them.Recommended by Burnside Genre Team, Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Set in a beautiful but economically devastated Pennsylvania steel town, American Rust is a novel of the lost American dream and the desperation—as well as the acts of friendship, loyalty, and love—that arise from its loss. From local bars to trainyards to prison, it is the story of two young men, bound to the town by family, responsibility, inertia, and the beauty around them, who dream of a future beyond the factories and abandoned homes.

Left alone to care for his aging father after his mother commits suicide and his sister escapes to Yale, Isaac English longs for a life beyond his hometown. But when he finally sets out to leave for good, accompanied by his temperamental best friend, former high school football star Billy Poe, they are caught up in a terrible act of violence that changes their lives forever.

Evoking John Steinbeck’s novels of restless lives during the Great Depression, American Rust takes us into the contemporary American heartland at a moment of profound unrest and uncertainty about the future. It is a dark but lucid vision, a moving novel about the bleak realities that battle our desire for transcendence and the power of love and friendship to redeem us.

Review:

"American Rust is a bold, absorbing novel with a keen interest in how communities falter." New York Times

Review:

"Suffice it to say that, although he's only in his mid-30s, Meyer knows more about the meaning of redemption than most other contemporary American novelists. He also knows how to write a compelling story." Baltimore Sun

Review:

"...more than a parable for hard times. It's a drama about making sacrifices, choices and mistakes that can change your life forever. It also introduces a novelist worth celebrating and watching." USA Today

Synopsis:

US

Synopsis:

The debut novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Son

Set in a beautiful but economically devastated Pennsylvania steel town, American Rust is a novel of the lost American dream and the desperation—as well as the acts of friendship, loyalty, and love—that arise from its loss. From local bars to trainyards to prison, it is the story of two young men, bound to the town by family, responsibility, inertia, and the beauty around them, who dream of a future beyond the factories and abandoned homes.

Left alone to care for his aging father after his mother commits suicide and his sister escapes to Yale, Isaac English longs for a life beyond his hometown. But when he finally sets out to leave for good, accompanied by his temperamental best friend, former high school football star Billy Poe, they are caught up in a terrible act of violence that changes their lives forever.

Evoking John Steinbeck’s novels of restless lives during the Great Depression, American Rust takes us into the contemporary American heartland at a moment of profound unrest and uncertainty about the future. It is a dark but lucid vision, a moving novel about the bleak realities that battle our desire for transcendence and the power of love and friendship to redeem us.

About the Author

Philipp Meyer grew up in Baltimore, dropped out of high school, and got his GED when he was sixteen. After spending several years volunteering at a trauma center in downtown Baltimore, he attended Cornell University, where he studied English. Since graduating, Meyer has worked as a derivatives trader at UBS, a construction worker, and an EMT, among other jobs. His writing has been published in McSweeney's, The Iowa Review, Salon.com, and New Stories from the South. From 2005 to 2008 Meyer was a fellow at the Michener Center for Writers in Austin, Texas. He splits his time between Texas and upstate New York.

A noir story in spirit if not in form, Philipp Meyer's debut novel shows off the skills of a terrific writer. Characters' voices leap off the page in a bleak and desperate narrative full of sympathy, perspective, and brilliant prose. The lives of these small-town losers spiral out of control as they attempt to thwart the fate they believe life has thrust upon them.

by Burnside Genre Team

"Review"
by New York Times,
"American Rust is a bold, absorbing novel with a keen interest in how communities falter."

"Review"
by Baltimore Sun,
"Suffice it to say that, although he's only in his mid-30s, Meyer knows more about the meaning of redemption than most other contemporary American novelists. He also knows how to write a compelling story."

"Review"
by USA Today,
"...more than a parable for hard times. It's a drama about making sacrifices, choices and mistakes that can change your life forever. It also introduces a novelist worth celebrating and watching."

"Synopsis"
by Random,
US

"Synopsis"
by Random,
The debut novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Son

Set in a beautiful but economically devastated Pennsylvania steel town, American Rust is a novel of the lost American dream and the desperation—as well as the acts of friendship, loyalty, and love—that arise from its loss. From local bars to trainyards to prison, it is the story of two young men, bound to the town by family, responsibility, inertia, and the beauty around them, who dream of a future beyond the factories and abandoned homes.

Left alone to care for his aging father after his mother commits suicide and his sister escapes to Yale, Isaac English longs for a life beyond his hometown. But when he finally sets out to leave for good, accompanied by his temperamental best friend, former high school football star Billy Poe, they are caught up in a terrible act of violence that changes their lives forever.

Evoking John Steinbeck’s novels of restless lives during the Great Depression, American Rust takes us into the contemporary American heartland at a moment of profound unrest and uncertainty about the future. It is a dark but lucid vision, a moving novel about the bleak realities that battle our desire for transcendence and the power of love and friendship to redeem us.

Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and gifts — here at Powells.com.